Man in Seattle terror plot gets 17-year sentence

Apr. 8, 2013 - 04:26PM
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SEATTLE — A man who helped plot an attack with machine guns and grenades on a Seattle military complex was sentenced in federal court Monday to 17 years in prison, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Walli Mujahidh, 34, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy to kill officers of the U.S., conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and unlawful possession of a firearm.

“This defendant was a cold-hearted, enthusiastic partner in this murderous scheme. He talked at length in recorded conversations about the innocent people he planned to gun down,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. “Even after his arrest he boldly tried to justify his plot. I am thankful this plot was disrupted, and again thank the FBI and Seattle Police Department.”

A co-defendant in the case, Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, 35, of Seattle, was sentenced last month to 18 years in prison. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and murder U.S. officers.

Law enforcement was alerted to the plot by a person who was approached by Abdul-Latif about supplying guns and who acted as an informant.

The conspirators were recorded on audio and video discussing an assault on the Military Entrance Processing Station in south Seattle where the military processes enlistees. The station houses military and civilian employees and a federal daycare.

In the recordings, the men discuss how they wanted to gun down people in revenge for atrocities by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, prosecutors said.

“During the planning sessions for the attack, Mujahidh made clear that he was eager to kill his intended victims, and as many as possible. He made numerous statements along these lines while he and Abdul-Latif planned out the play-by-play movements of the attackers using the map of the Federal Center South building,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.

The two men were arrested in June 2011 when they arrived at a warehouse to pick up three machine guns. The weapons had been rendered inoperable by law enforcement.

The informant, a repeat felon and convicted sex offender, was paid $90,400 for his cooperation.